The Battle between Mentalities

People always tell me that surrounding oneself with positive company is the only way anyone can get anywhere in life. I've always heard cries of concern that the positivity I exhibit could be drained if I associate myself with bad company. However, I have a new thought on this matter. If external negative influences of other people can negatively impact a positive person, why cant a positive person have a lasting positive impact on the negative people in his surroundings? I, like most people, admit to having my share of negative and positive friends in life, but to say that I will be swept to the side by the overwhelming tide of negativity is preposterous. I will strive to not let my positivity be washed over by negativity, but in turn to exert my positive influence on the negative people and the world around me, and actually work towards improving the world, person by person, rather than avoiding the problem. Through my HOSA state conference last week, I was presented this opportunity.

This weekend, I was given the opportunity to compete on a state level for HOSA. My event was biomedical debate, an event similar to the LD debate I already compete in, but with a medically-oriented resolution and a team of three other individuals. To progress on from this state level to the International Leadership Conference (ILC), my team would first have to place among the top ten teams in the state through a test, and then debate a random team from this ten and get within the top three places. With the almost 90 other competitors, this seemed like a daunting task, so the other members of my group, having already been depleted of their motivation earlier this year, wanted to fail on purpose so that they go about exploring the city of Corpus Christi where the conference was being held. I, being the only one who was willing to still struggle and persist despite the odds, was faced with what seemed like a an insurmountable obstacle, because alone could not make up for my team's upcoming poor performance, and as a result, my dream of going to ILC as my school's HOSA president, would be squashed.

After hours of trying, I was able to finally convince my team to work towards succeeding during this state conference. I told them about how we struggled so hard to get this far, and it couldn't all be for just "having fun in Corpus". I reminded them how we worked hard for success, and they remembered. My group, in those last few hours before the test and debate, went full force into preparing, and as a result, we were given second place out of the 90 other competitors.

Going into this situation, I solely held the spark of positivity and the desire to succeed in me, and was surrounded by the dark minds full of negative thought. But rather than give into the pressure of this overbearing negativity, I was able to shine greater and sway the minds of these "bad influences". This shows me that it is possible to surround yourself with bad influences and still come out on top, and disproves that traditional way of thinking. I feel that I have the power to continue to change minds and further the positivity in the world, and start making my mark on this globe, just as I will soon as an oncologist.